Self-contained ice making unit



Dec. 25, 1956 Filed Nov. 7, 1952 FlG.l

L.HAN$ON SELF-CONTAINED ICE MAKING UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet l HVVENTUR.

Dec. 25, 1956 L. HANSON SELF-CONTAINED ICE MAKING UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Nov. 7,' 1952 FIG.4

INVENTOR.

.47" GENE),

SELF-CONTAINED ICE MAKING UNIT Lars Hanson, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor toCarrier Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of DelawareApplication November 7, 1952, Serial No. 319,325

2 Claims. (Cl. 62-108) This invention relates to an apparatus for makingice and more particularly to an apparatus for forming small blocks ofice for use on ships or in similar locations where there is no othersupply of ice.

One of the disadvantages of ice making apparatus of the prior art wasthat the large size of the apparatus prevented it from being placed in anumber of different positions.

Another feature of the prior apparatus was that a secondary liquid wasused to freeze the ice. This, of course, resulted in adding to the sizeand weight of the machine.

Another problem was the fact that the refrigeration machine normally waspositioned at a point remote from the ice making apparatus and thisresulted in the need of two diiferent spaces for the complete apparatus.

The present invention eliminates these problems since a direct expansionevaporator is employed and the re frigeration machine may be located ina compact unit with the ice making apparatus. The size of the unit issufficiently small to permit it to be positioned in any of a number ofselected spaces.

The chief object of the present invention is to provide an ice makingunit without the use of a relatively large body of brine solution thatis capable of freezing ice in a relatively short time.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ice making unit oflight weight structure which may be transported easily from one place toanother.

A further object is to provide an ice making unit capable of makingblocks of a size that one man can handle. Other objects of the inventionwill be readily perceived from the following description.

This invention relates to an ice maker comprising a container forcontaining a liquid to be frozen, a refrigera tion system including anevaporator disposed about the container to freeze the liquid to form theice, and means for harvesting the ice.

This invention further relates to a method of forming ice consisting ofthe steps of filling a container with liquid, placing the filledcontainer inside a second contained, cooling the second container toremove heat from the first container and freeze the liquid to form ice,and separating the containers.

The attached drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention,in which Figure 1 is a sectional view of the apparatus of the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a modified form of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of another modification ofthe apparatus;and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of a refrigeration system applied to oneof the containers.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figure 1, there isdisclosed the ice making unit of the present invention which includes acasing 2 and a cover 3 for the casing. This cover contains insulation 16such as fiberglass. A partition 4 is positioned in the casing to nitedStates Patent divide the casing into a refrigerated chamber 5 and asteam chest 6.

The refrigerated chamber 5 includes a plurality of ice makers 7. The icemaker consists of an outer container or can 8 and an inner container orcan 9. Each of these containers is tapered downward and inward with theamount of taper. The inner container 9 is so designed that there is aspace 10 between the exterior surface of the inner container 9 and theinterior surface of the outer container 8. This space 10 is shown filledwith a fiuid 11 such as an anti-freeze compound or brine solution. Theanti-freeze compound may be triethylene glycol and the brine solutionmay be a solution of water and calcium chloride. It should be note-dthat the quantity of anti-freeze compound or brine solution to fill thespace 10 between the containers is very small. A rubber gasket 12 may beempioyed between the inner and outer containers to prevent the fluid 11from escaping from the space 10 and to prevent air from entering thisspace. The ice makers 7 are insulated from the casing 2 and thepartition 4 by insulation such as glass wool 17.

A cover 13 is provided for the inner container. This cover may be heldin place by means of springs 14 suspended from the bottom of the casingcover 3. However, other suitable means may be employed, if desired,

to hold the cover 13 in position.

The evaporator coil 15 of a refrigeration system surrounds the othercontainer 8 and is fixed to the exterior surface of the containerpreferably by soldering or brazing. This coil is wound about the wallsand the bottom of the container. The refrigeration system is more fullyshown in Figure 4 and will be described hereinafter.

The steam chest 6 includes an outer casing 22 and an inner casing 23.Both of these casings are tapered downward and inward and have a commonbase 24. In this base 24, inside of the inner casing, is a suitabledrain 25 to permit the removal of condensate.

Angle brackets are provided on the interior of the inner casing at 26and 27 to serve as a guide for one of the ice containers.

Spaced around the interior of the inner casing 23 is a steam coil 28which has orifices 29 spaced throughout. When steam is supplied to thecoil 28, these orifices spray the steam onto the sides of the container9. Insulation 30 is placed between the casing 2 and member 31.

This insulation is preferably fiberglass.

Considering the operation of the device, water is placed in the innercontainer 9, which is then positioned inside of the outer container 8.Before the inner container 9 has been positioned in the outer container8, a quantity of fluid 11 has been placed in the bottom of container 8.This quantity is such that when the inner container 9 is positioned inthe outer container 8 a film of the fluid 11 is distributed over theinterior surface of the outer container 8.

After the inner container has been positioned inthe outer container,refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator coil 15. Due to the low heatresistance value of the fluid 11, heat from the liquid in the innercontainer 9 is easily transmitted to the coil 15. Thus, ice is formedwithin the inner container 9. Upon completion of the freezing of theliquid in the inner container 9, this inner container may easily beremoved from the outer container since the fluid 11 has prevented anycontact between the exterior surface of container 9 and interior surfaceof container 8 and has also prevented any freezing between these twosurfaces.

After the inner container with its ice has been removed from the outercon-tainer, this ice must be removed from the inner container. This ispreferably accomplished by placing the container in the steam chest 6.However, it

could be removed by running water over the container or in any othersuitable manner. After the container is positioned in the inner casing23 of the steam chest, steam is supplied to the steam coil 28 andsprayed over the-container in a quantity sufii'cient to free the icefrom the interior sides of the container 9. The container 9 15 thenremoved from the steam chest and the ice is readily removed from thecan. The ice may be used immediately or placed in a suitable storagecompartment.

This particular apparatus is advantageous in eliminating the brine asthe secondary refrigerant by using a direct expansion evaporator. Inaddition, the ice 1s easily removed from 'the can and one man mayoperate the unit since the blocks will only weigh about to 18 pounds.This particular apparatus will freeze a block of ice in 8 to 9 hours sothat a sufficient amount of ice will always be on hand. This particulartwo-can apparatus has the advantage of the inner container beingremovable so that it may be easily cleaned.

The embodiment disclosed in Figure, 2 uses only one can or container,indicated at 35. This container has an evaporator coil 36 attached toits exterior surface and in contact therewith. Spaced between theevaporator coil on the outer surface of container 35 and fixed to thecontainer are heating rods 37 of an electric heater. The container 35 isprovided with a cover 38 that may be held in p'osition by any well knownlocking means. drain 39 is provided in the bottom of container 35 topermit the flow of water therefrom during cleaning operations.

Considering the operation of the modification of Figure 2, the container35 is filled with water which is to be frozen. A handle 40 is thenplaced into the water. This handle consists of an upper grip 41, a rod42 connected to the upper grip and to a bottom 43. The bottom of thehandle, which is at substantially a right angle to the rod, rests on thebase of the container and is separated therefrom by a film of the water.The cover 38 is then positioned upon the container 35.

Refrigerant is then supplied through the evaporator coil 36 so that thewater is frozen and ice is formed. Upon completion of the freezing ofthe water, the supply of refrigerant is stopped and the heater is placedin circuit by a manual switch. These rods 37 serve to thaw the ice fromthe interior surface of the container 35. The cover 38 is next removedand the handle 4d is grasped. While a thin layer of ice may existbetween the bottom of the handle and the base of the container 35, aslight pull on the handle will free the block of ice and the entireblock may be removed. The ice is then chopped in smaller sections andplaced in a suitable storage compartment.

This particular embodiment has the advantage of freezing a block of iceof 15 to 18 pounds in about six hours. However, it is not as easy toclean as the modification of Figure 1. It will be understood that anumber of these containers 35 may be placed in a unit such as shown inFigure 1.

In Figure 3, there is shown a modified form of the invention. Thisparticular modification has an outer container or can 58 and an innercontainer or can 59. Both containers are tapered inward and downward andare so constructed that a space 61 is left therebetween. This space isapproximately to s of an inch. A rubber gasket 62 may be providedbetween the inner and outer containers to seal off this space 61. Acover 63 is provided for the inner container 59 and may be held in placeby any well known locking means. An evaporator coil 65 is positionedupon the exterior wall of the outer container 58. Also positioned uponthe exterior wall of the outer container 58 and between the evaporatorcoil 65 is a heater 66 similar to heater 37 previously described.

In the operation of this modification, water is placed in the innercontainer 59 and this container is put in the outer container 58. Thecover 63 is then positioned on top of the inner container 59. Next,refrigerant is supplied through the evaporator coil 65 and i is formedin the inner container 59. The containers are reasonably tig-h't fittingso as to get satisfactory heat transfer between the coil 65 and theinner container 59, even though narrow air space is present. With thisconstruction, frost will form between the two containers, which will notpermit the inner container to be removed from the outer containerwithout a defrosting or thawing operation. Thus, the heater 66 isemployed to not only thaw the inner can for removal but also thaw theice from the inner container so that the ice can be dumped out of thecan and placed in a suitable storage compartment.

The modification of Figure 3 has the particular advantage of eliminatingnecessity for a steam chest or other thawing means. It will beunderstood that this type of container may be constructed as a unit witha number of other similar containers such as shown in the refrigeratedchamber ofFigure l. I

With particular reference to Figure 4, the outer container 2 and theevaporator coil 15 of the modification of Figure 1 are shown combinedwith the refrigeration system employed to form the ice. Therefrigeration system includes a compressor 7% and a condenser 71. Therefrigerant is compressed in compressor 70 and flows to the condenser 71through discharge line 72. After being cooled in the condenser, therefrigerant flows through receiver 77 and line 73 to the evaporator. Theflow through line 73 is throttled by expansion valve 74, which isresponsive to a thermostatic bulb 75 placed in suction line 76. Afterpassing through the evaporator, the refrigerant flows through suctionline 76 to the compressor. This is the Well known type of refrigerationsystem and no further explanation of this operation is deemed necessary.

The present invention provides an economical and easily operated machinefor forming blocks of ice. This machine is particularly adaptable foruse on ships where space is at a premium since it is compact in size andeconomical in operation. It permits a large quantity of ice to be formedby a small and easily transported uni-t that may be placed in any numberof suitable spaces on a small ship such as a destroyer.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it willbe understood my invention is not limited thereto since it may beotherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an ice maker, the combination of a casing, a refrigerated chamberwithin said casing, a steam chest within said casing, and a partitionwithin said casing separating the chamber from said chest, said chamberincluding a container for containing the liquid to be frozen and meansfor lowering the temperature of the liquid so as to form the ice, saidsteam chest including a receptacle to receive the container of saidchamber, a steam coil disposed about the interior walls of thereceptacle, said coil having spray means adapted to supply steam overthe exterior surface of said container to thaw the ice from saidcontainer.

2. Ice making apparatus comprising a housing, a cover for the housing,said housing including a partition forming a refrigeration compartmentand a harvesting compartment, a first container in the refrigerationcompartment, a second container having an annular flange surrounding thetop thereof, positioned within the first container with the externalsurface thereof in spaced relation to the internal surface of the firstcontainer, means associated with the first container for extracting heatfrom the second container, a cap assembled in engagement with the topflange of the second container and means interposed between the housingcover and cap for preventing separation of the cap and the secondcontainer when the housing cover is applied to the housing. I

(References on following page) References Cited in the file ofthispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS Church Nov. 13, 1894 Miskolczy Apr. 2,1901 Hemphill Dec. 5, 1922 Nordmeyer July 17, 1923 Kobash Sept. 16, 19246 Grayson Aug. 29, 1933 Perman Apr. 9, 1935 Bland Dec. 14, 1937 RibeiroMay 9, 1950 Shontz -1 Nov. 7, 1950 McCoy May 6, 1952

